A couple’s dreams of tying the knot at Ely’s iconic Maltings have been shattered after the company which manages the venue lost the contract and was forced to cancel their big day.

Danielle King and Liam Peters, from Pymoor, booked the venue, which overlooks the River Great Ouse in Ely, earlier this year and had already begun purchasing table centre pieces and wedding favours.

But, at the start of April, the couple, both 25, were called in by Compass Group for a meeting and told that their wedding, planned for next year, had been cancelled.

The lease to the Maltings has recently been passed from East Cambridgeshire District Council to the City of Ely Council and, as a result, Compass will no longer be managing events at the venue.

Liam said: “Everything we were thinking about and planning for The Maltings has had to go back to the drawing board. We’ve only bought little bits and pieces but now we are going to have to start all over again.

“When you are trying to organise a wedding and you think you have things sorted, it’s quite a blow.”

Worse still for the couple, who have been together for four years, they were forced to wait more than two weeks to get back the £1,000 deposit they paid to secure The Maltings, leaving them in jeopardy of missing out on an alternative venue, in Quy, near Cambridge.

Liam added: “When we were told that the wedding had been cancelled, we said that we needed our money back as soon as possible because we needed to secure another venue.

“We were told it would go straight up to their accounts department but when we called it seemed as though the people in the office hadn’t got a clue what was going on. There was a complete lack of communication.”

Though the couple did eventually get their money back, they are still waiting to hear whether they have secured a venue for their wedding, scheduled to take place in August.

Danielle added: “I would hate for anyone to be put in our position and I really hope any other couples affected by this haven’t had the issues we have.”

A spokesman for Compass Group said: “East Cambridgeshire District Council has informed us that unfortunately, from September 22,2014, we will no longer be providing catering and hospitality services at The Maltings. As a result we have worked hard to return any deposits made with us as soon as possible or try and find alternative venues for those that would like us to do so.

“Danielle and Liam’s deposit has now been returned to them. We are very sorry that we won’t be able to cater at their wedding and share their special day and we would like to apologise to everyone that had bookings with us at The Maltings for any inconvenience caused.”